49ers Riding Good Trends Through Short Week to Play Chargers Thursday Night

Filed under: 49ers, NFC West

There's no denying that the San Francisco 49ers have a serious hurdle this week against San Diego.

Not only are the Chargers second in the league on offense, they are first on defense.

Clearly, with quarterback Philip Rivers leading in yards per attempt (8.81) and sitting second in passing yards and third in quarterback ranking (103.2), San Diego isn't to be trifled with.

And San Francisco quarterback Alex Smith and his front line must be wary of the Charger pass rush, responsible for the third-most sacks in the league to date.

So this isn't perhaps the best time for San Francisco to face the Chargers in a short week and on the road. The two teams meet up Thursday night in San Diego, meaning San Francisco has just Tuesday for a full workout. The 49ers fly to San Diego Wednesday after doing some light work.

"The coaches try to look out for us and keep us healthy,'' linebacker Patrick Willis told the San Jose Mercury News. "But you really have to tune in on your own and get your own film work done. We just have to tune in mentally.''

Willis and fellow linebacker Takeo Spikes are wearing bulky gloves on their right arms, the result of as-yet unnamed injuries suffered against Seattle Sunday. Both are expected to play, but it's not clear whether the casts will accompany them on the field.

From the point of view of free safety Dashon Goldson, seeing the Chargers Thursday means missing the heavy work, and that's not all bad.

"It's a short week,'' he said, "but the thing about our team is that when we have days off, everybody still comes in and gets better. Guys get in the training room and get their bodies back and watch the film. That's important.''

For as good as the Chargers' numbers are, San Diego is only 7-6, not markedly better than the 5-8 49ers. Both are struggling to make it to the playoffs.

But going into the game, things actually look reasonably bright for San Francisco.

They haven't played many Thursday games over the years, but when they do, they are 5-0. Three of those five Thursday wins
came on the road.

And while it's been seven years since San Francisco has been in the playoffs, the 49ers have a recent history of finishing strong.

 

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Source: http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2010/12/15/49ers-riding-good-trends-through-short-week-to-play-chargers-thu/

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